Natural gas futures faltered on Friday amid dubious midrange weather outlooks and increased production, ending a three-day win streak. The December Nymex contract settled at $5.516/MMBtu, down 20.0 cents day/day. January fell 20.0 cents to $5.626.

Forward Curve

At A Glance:

  • Weather forecasts are ‘very noncommittal’
  • Storage supplies near five-year average
  • Cash prices slump amid mild temperatures

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped 37.0 cents to $5.115.

Bespoke Weather Services said models that had earlier in the week pointed to widespread cold by mid-November were less convincing by Friday. A blast of freezing temperatures in the second half of the month remained possible, according to forecasts, but it appeared less likely by the close of the trading week.

“We know price...